![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
For the first time in a while, 16 houses are on the list for forced sale because of overdue payments.
Dozens of homes have been listed for forced sale, including a mysterious $385,000 property that could make someone a millionaire – but experts warn potential buyers to beware.
Experts were surprised to see not just units but also 16 coastal houses in a list of properties named for sale due to overdue council rates. They are now set for auction in early March, alongside properties such as eight holiday units in a Mercure resort complex on the Gold Coast.
But they warn there are a range of issues which need to be considered if buyers choose to make offers on the properties.
SCROLL DOWN FOR FULL LIST OF ADDRESSES
MORE: CFMEU’s new move: Inside controversial union’s major shift
Wild price for Aussie Rapunzel tower fairy tale home
10 Parish Court Molendinar is on the list. It was last in a forced sale in 2019.
This as the Gold Coast City Council leads local government bodies cracking down on owners pocketing massive gains in property valuations but failing to pay overdue rates and associated charges.
Gold Coast City Council CEO Tim Baker said 34 properties were listed to “be sold by public auction at 10am AEST on Thursday March 13 via online internet-based auction platform with no ability for buyers to bid or physically attend the auction in person”.
The forced sales – which are being pushed under Section 142 of the Local Government Regulation 2012 – will be open to online bidding only, opening up the possibility of national and international competition.
MORE: Listed: Every housing hand-out you can get
No-go zones: Worst suburbs for investors revealed
Asked to clarify, a council spokeswoman confirmed “Council is unable to authorise inspections of the land (property) because it does not have possession and cannot grant access to the land”.
She added that by entering any sale agreement, the purchaser acknowledged that the council doesn’t guarantee vacant possession of the land would be provided on the completion date in the sales contract.
“It is the Purchaser’s sole responsibility to secure and obtain vacant possession after completion,” she said.
Further any “actions required to correct any potential issues” would be at the purchaser’s expense.
Asked how the funds would be split upon the sale, she said “the City retains only the money it is owed in rates and costs with any surplus being returned to the former owner once known encumbrances (land tax, mortgages, body corporate levies, etc) are liquidated”.
139 Strawberry Road, Bonogin, is also on the council hit list.
MORE: Fire damaged Brisbane house listed over $749,000
Cheaper way to live like a richlister in $22.5m mansion
Oliver Dunstan who is the Queensland director of Rose & Jones buyers agency said “it’s a bit of buyer aware there”.
“At the end of the day, a lot of people might see that as the opportunity to snag a bargain, but the risks are probably outweighing that opportunity in a lot of those cases compared to a mortgagee sale where you do get the right to inspect it,” he said.
“If someone is very keen on a property like that, and they are unable to inspect the property, then probably leaning on the advice of a proper buyer’s agent would be helpful… There could be some unforeseen damage or issues with the property.”
“If there’s a risk that they can pay their rates and the sale doesn’t go through, then you’d want to be very clear on your legal advice and the risk that you’re carrying into that.”
He said in over five years on the coast working in the industry, he’d never heard of anyone having to be forcibly evicted when such properties were sold but warned “it might be a possibility”.
SCROLL TO END FOR FULL LIST OF ADDRESSES
This home on the list required expert attention in 2019 when it last changed hands during a mortgagee sale.
Lawyer Matthew Williams of Gold Coast City Solicitors who has represented a multitude of local, interstate and international clients, said “councils aren’t in the business of keeping people out of their homes, so they are generally quite collaborative” with this type of action being taken in extreme cases where owners are often overdue by several years.
“It’s a fairly lengthy process, not something that just happens overnight,” he said.
“I’ve seen some where they’ve had to have the property sold where they’ve owed something like $10,000 to $15,000 in rates, not small sums of money.”
He said a public auction was the council’s right after following the processes to collect overdue funds.
“It’s an unconditional contract of sale. There is some complexity to that, particularly where there’s perhaps an owner of the home who refuses to leave the property, for example, or the they believe that the council are wrong and that they don’t owe that money,” he said.
“But in most cases by the time the auction goes through, the homeowner is quite well aware that they’ve got to leave, and quite often they’ve either found alternative arrangements… It’s very rare that someone would stay in the property once the auction goes through.”
It is unclear what changes have been made to this property on the list since these images were taken in 2019.
“Generally, the courts will want to see that you’ve taken every possible step available to you to get them to leave.”
“I suggest it would probably be viewed through the lens of tenancy in which case my advice to any client would be to simply issue the notice to leave (to the previous owner) under the Tenancy Act, and then they would go through that QCAT process.”
He said any buyers should be aware that they may have to go through that process if successful at council auction.
“You can buy the property, that’s fine, but just be aware that you may have to go through this action afterwards as well, and factor that into your offer if it’s something you’re still willing to do,” he said.
10 Parish Court could be a dual living home.
Among the houses listed for forced sale is 10 Parish Court, Molendinar, a fixer upper that last sold for $385,000 in April 2019 after the ANZ Bank moved in on the previous owner of the property.
Mystery surrounds what has occurred with that home since then after it was bought by an interstate investor, with no council records in a public search for upgrades or development approvals since that time.
At the time the house was in a shabby state though the bones were concrete.
Lightning Realty Southport agent Chris Mattingley marketed the four bedroom house on a large 1,260sq m block as one that would appeal to builders, handymen and tradespeople given it was a “substantial two storey house in need of maintenance and improvement”.
MORE: Qld cricket power couple’s multimillion dollar bounce back
Payne Haas’ year: New coach, new bub, new house
Mr Mattingley said he was not aware of what had occurred since the sale in 2019.
“It clearly needed some work, but it was a blank canvas you could do a lot with. We were approached by builders and tradespeople. There was huge interest and a big turnout at the auction. The fundamentals were there, it just needed someone who could clean it up and get it approved.”
He said “it’s good buying for somebody. Even if he’s done nothing to it in six years, the AI generated valuations in the street are $1.2-1.4m which is fantastic.”
According to GCC, there will be a reserve price on the land being auctioned off and all bidders must register online.
A deposit of $5,000 has to be paid to the Gold Coast City Council’s nominated stakeholder by electronic funds transfer (EFT) immediately after the contract is executed.
“The successful online auction bidder is responsible in seeking and securing vacant possession after the settlement of the sale of the property.”
MORE: Mega payday for ex NRL ironman and Scottish captain
Properties on forced sale list:
*As at February 7, 2025, there are 34 properties scheduled for the online auction on March 13, 2025.
Lot 24 BUP5325 Unit 1202 198 Ferny Ave SURFERS PARADISE QLD 4217
Lot 253 BUP106856 Unit 3501A-B 3400-3420 Surfers Paradise Boulevarde SURFERS PARADISE QLD 4217
Lot 43 SP108366 Unit 43 24 Beattie Road COOMERA QLD 4209
Lot 2901 SP188984 Unit 2901 4 Como Crescent SOUTHPORT QLD 4215
Lot 4 SP278140 Unit 204 11 Andrews Street SOUTHPORT QLD 4215
Lot 39 RP81652 19 Mungera Street BIGGERA WATERS QLD 4216
Lot 86 RP181820 11 Reed Street ASHMORE QLD 4214
Lot 1 BUP4834 Unit 1 13 Aubrey Street SURFERS PARADISE QLD 4217
Lot 36 BUP5349 Unit 36 38 Enderley Ave SURFERS PARADISE QLD 4217
Lot 12 BUP3910 Unit 12 2964 Gold Coast Highway SURFERS PARADISE QLD 4217
Lot 1 GTP46 20 Twenty Sixth Ave PALM BEACH QLD 4221
The view from upstairs at 10 Parish Court in 2019.
Lot 270 RP224410 10 Parish Court MOLENDINAR QLD 4214
Lot 214 RP858090 55 Daintree Drive PARKWOOD QLD 4214
Lot 9 GTP101456 Unit 9 28-32 Golden Palms Court ASHMORE QLD 4214
Lot 758 RP864315 42 Carner Court PARKWOOD QLD 4214
Lot 1 RP175459 2 Glenrowan Drive TALLAI QLD 4213
Lot 10 BUP13871 Unit 32 104 Old Coach Road MUDGEERABA QLD 4213
Lot 12 RP160420 25A Belmont Park Drive MUDGEERABA QLD 4213
Lot 219 RP893890 4 Cowell Drive BURLEIGH HEADS QLD 4220
Lot 2 SP110297 Honeyeater Drive BURLEIGH WATERS QLD 4220
Lot 95 SP165364 12 Old Kent Road UPPER COOMERA QLD 4209
Lot 325 SP167628 19 Oceanis Drive OXENFORD QLD 4210
Lot 23 SP218250 28 Collingrove Circuit PIMPAMA QLD 4209
Lot 44 SP258551 53 Moondani Drive GILSTON QLD 4211
Stunning view from inside 139 Strawberry Road, Bonogin.
Lot 10 SP267064 139 Strawberry Road BONOGIN QLD 4213
Lot 41 GTP107489 9241 Peter Senior Drive HOPE ISLAND QLD 4212
Lot 55 BUP10651464 Palm Meadows Drive CARRARA QLD 4211
Lot 26 BUP10651464 Palm Meadows Drive CARRARA QLD 4211
Lot 67 BUP10651464 Palm Meadows Drive CARRARA QLD 4211
Lot 161 BUP10651464 Palm Meadows Drive CARRARA QLD 4211
Lot 235 BUP10651464 Palm Meadows Drive CARRARA QLD 4211
Lot 236 BUP10651464 Palm Meadows Drive CARRARA QLD 4211
Lot 271 BUP10651464 Palm Meadows Drive CARRARA QLD 4211
Lot 302 BUP10651464 Palm Meadows Drive CARRARA QLD 4211
